The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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Tabarca Island Ferry from Alicante: What You Need To Know

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At our apartment in Alicante, we’re lucky enough to have a balcony that looks out over the Mediterranean Sea. 😍 (Being from Missouri I still can’t believe I just wrote that sentence.) And while we love overlooking all the port activity, sailing lessons, and cruise ships, there’s something else pretty interesting that we’re able to see out in the distance on a clear day — the Spanish island of Tabarca.

This summer, we’ve set out for Tabarca twice. First, we rented a boat with a private company since Matt has his Spanish boater’s license. But we learned there are some unique pitfalls to doing it that way — like the fact that you can’t pull into port on the island if you’re just visiting. So for our second visit, we decided to take the ferry along with most people who visit Tabarca.

Here’s what you need to know to plan your own Tabarca Island ferry trip from Alicante! [Read more…]

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Black Cab Tour Belfast: What To Expect & Why It’s a Must-Do

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Last month, we spent a week in Ireland with our friends Sarah and Kelan! We started in County Donegal in the northwest of the island before heading east into Northern Ireland — a few hours in Derry/Londonderry and then a few days in Belfast. While I’d passed through Belfast for an afternoon in the past, on my way to the Giant’s Causeway for the first time, I hadn’t done much other than visit the Titanic Museum.

On this visit, we had a lot more time to explore Belfast! And one of the things I knew I didn’t want to miss out on was a Belfast Black Cab Tour. These tours help visitors learn about Belfast’s history and the history of Northern Ireland as a whole. Having read Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe last summer, I was super interested to see all the places in Belfast where history was happening in the book.

So, here’s what you need to know about Belfast and why you can’t miss out on a Belfast Black Cab Tour. [Read more…]

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What You Need To Know Before You Visit Derry, Northern Ireland

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I’m not a big TV or movie person — but my friends are constantly recommending things for me to watch. Most of the time, they know I’m never going to do it. (But if I do watch something of my own accord and suggest it to them, I expect them to drop whatever they’re doing and start watching immediately.)

But a few summers ago, when Matt and I were visiting my two besties from college for a long weekend, one of them suggested: Let’s watch Derry Girls. Both of them had recommended it to me in the past and I had resisted watching, per usual. But this time I had no choice. And within two minutes of starting the show, the clever opening scene with the background of “Dreams” by The Cranberries (who else?) had me hooked. We watched the next episode, and the next… and soon we had finished the entirety of both seasons that had been released to that point. It would be more than a year before the third and final season was released, which Matt and I dutifully binged at home as soon as it came out.

Fast forward to our most recent trip to Ireland a few weeks ago. After meeting up with our Irish friends Sarah and Kelan in County Donegal (thanks to the Bus Eireann Expressway), we spent one night in Bundoran and two nights in Falcarragh. After exploring County Donegal for a few days, our plan was to continue on to Belfast — but considering the driving route literally passed through Derry, there was no way we were going to miss the chance to visit.

Whether you’ve watched Derry Girls or not, I still think it’s worth it to visit Derry on your trip to Northern Ireland. So, here’s what you need to know before your visit to Derry. (Though I might still try to convince you to watch the show before your trip!) [Read more…]

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Bus Éireann Expressway Review: Dublin to County Donegal, Ireland

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The Bus Éireann Expressway we took to Donegal from Dublin

Summer is (almost) officially here, and it is officially HOT in Spain. In Alicante, we are gearing up for the famous Hogueras celebration, and I’m excited but also not sure I’m mentally ready for two straight weeks of staying up until 3 a.m. But in the meantime, we took a break from the heat and the planned chaos to visit our Irish besties, Sarah and Kelan, for a week-long trip to the north of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

When we landed in Dublin, Sarah and Kelan had already been up in County Donegal with Sarah’s family, and that’s where we were going to meet them to start our trip. So it was up to us to arrange our transportation from Dublin to Ballyshannon, Donegal, where they would pick us up. After a little bit of research, it turned out our best option was a direct bus from Dublin Airport to Donegal with Bus Eireann Expressway. So, here’s my Bus Éireann Expressway review: Dublin to County Donegal, Ireland. [Read more…]

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How To Get Free Notre Dame Cathedral Tickets in Paris

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We all saw the news in April 2019 — one of the world’s most famous churches, Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, caught on fire. And if you somehow missed that, then your Instagram feed was certainly full of every person you knew who’d ever been to Paris posting grainy photos from the early 2000s of themselves at Notre Dame, captioned simply with a #brokenheartemoji. 💔

But six years later, Notre Dame lives again! In fact, it just re-opened to the public in December 2024. So when Matt and I visited Paris at the end of March, we couldn’t miss our chance to check it out. And when I was planning our visit, I was shocked to find out that tickets to visit Notre Dame are free! However, only a limited number of reservations are available per day — and they don’t make it easy to claim those tickets. So here’s exactly how you can get free Notre Dame cathedral tickets. [Read more…]

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Truth or Stereotype: Are Parisians Actually That Mean?

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I first visited Paris in the summer of 2011, right after graduating from high school, on my first-ever trip to Europe. After spending a few weeks in Germany with my boyfriend at the time, we boarded a tour bus in Stuttgart for the 10-hour ride to Paris. I remember visiting Notre Dame, being amazed by the Eiffel Tower, drinking wine on a Seine River cruise (so scandalous for an 18-year-old), and generally having a good time.

Since that was my first big trip outside the U.S., I was so curious about visiting Paris again with a different perspective — the perspective of someone who’s now visited 31 countries and countless major cities around the world. I was excited to go with Matt, too! But when we told people about our plans to visit Paris, we heard a few variations of this sentiment: “The people in Paris are so mean.” [Read more…]

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City Review: Bratislava, Slovakia

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An Eastern European Christmas Market tour this past December was the perfect time to check another new country off the list! After visiting Wroclaw, Poland, and Prague, Czechia — both of which are cities/countries I’d been to before, our last stop was Bratislava, Slovakia. For being the smallest of the cities we visited on this trip, the Bratislava Christmas market was super impressive and had the best food out of the three.

Whether you’re planning a visit to Slovakia’s capital city for Christmas or any time of year, here’s what you need to know about visiting Bratislava. [Read more…]

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City Review: Wrocław, Poland

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This past December, Matt and I set out on our ten-day, three-country Christmas Market tour of Eastern Europe. Our first stop was Wrocław, Poland — a city I visited for the first time on a solo trip back in March 2019. It was really exciting to be back there, especially in such a different situation than the first time.

I obviously enjoyed the city enough to come back, so I wanted to share more about what it’s like to visit. Here’s everything you need to know about Wroclaw, Poland. [Read more…]

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UK ETA Visa: What You Need To Know

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Last month, we visited the United Kingdom to spend the first few days of the New Year in Cardiff, Wales. And this weekend, we’ll be  heading back to the UK — to Liverpool this time — with a brand new “visa” in hand. This is the new UK ETA visa, or the Electronic Travel Authorisation visa, which just went into effect for the first time on January 8, 2025.

It sounds a little but scary, but I promise the process to apply is super simple — and I’ll walk you through all the steps so there’s no confusion. I’ll even share a trick for American passports to (hopefully) help prevent frustration. So, here’s everything you need to know about the UK ETA visa. [Read more…]

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Day Trip: Cardiff to the Gower Peninsula

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I mentioned in my last blog how deciding to visit Cardiff, Wales, in January was quite a choice. 😂 And while we enjoyed our time in Cardiff, the real highlight of our visit to Wales was the day trip we took to the Gower Peninsula. We had considered renting a car in advance of the trip, but we decided against it in case the weather was going to be bad — so we basically booked and planned our road trip less than 24 hours before we set off.

Here’s what our day trip from Cardiff to the Gower Peninsula looked like, and what you need to know if you want to plan your own. [Read more…]